Election Boycotts and Hybrid Regime Survival

Bibliographic Data

ID6246728
AuthorsIan O Smith (Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA), Ian Smith (0000-0003-1333-2090, Georgia State University, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume47
Issue5
Pages743-765
Publication date2014-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Political Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0010-4140 • E-ISSN: 1552-3829
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0010414013488548
OpenAlexW2132211073
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited27

Despite the frequent occurrence of election boycotts, there are few studies available in the scholarly literature concerning their effectiveness, particularly as a strategy of opposition parties seeking to bring about the end of electoral authoritarian governments. This article uses an original data set with global coverage of hybrid regimes from 1981 to 2006, and uses event-history analysis to determine the efficacy of boycotts in national elections among other risk factors thought to undermine hybrid regimes. This article also takes a preliminary look at democratization outcomes following boycotted and contested elections in hybrid regimes. The core findings are that boycotts hasten the electoral defeat of hybrid regimes without much risk of destabilizing the electoral process, but ultimately do not lead to increased competition in successor regimes

Authoritarianism · Democracy · Democratization · Economics · Opposition (politics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Successor cardinal · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Political Influence and Corporate Strategies

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